It’s common knowledge that, through the process of natural selection, organisms adapt to their environments. But what happens when there are no barriers to gene flow and organisms are free-floating between extremely variable environmental conditions? A new study by UConn…
Tag: Genetics
Researchers make it possible for ultrasound to reveal gene expression in the body
Some of the most important tools in the toolbox of modern cell biologists are special chunks of DNA that act like spies, reporting on the cell’s function. The markers, known as reporter genes, allow researchers to get a sense for…
Extra amino acid could work wonders
Rice University chemist uses designer amino acids in search for new cures
Predicting cancer versus autism risk in PTEN patients
New Cleveland Clinic led research published in American Journal of Human Genetics
Tasmanian devil research could help tackle immunotherapy resistance
A cluster of interacting proteins that are active in both human cancers and Tasmanian devil facial tumours, may give clues to how cancers evade the immune system, according to a study part-funded by Cancer Research UK and published in Cancer…
Viruses as modulators of interactions in marine ecosystems
GEOMAR scientists show a new picture of the role of viruses in the ocean
Semen miRNAs could be non-invasive biomarkers for prostate cancer
Researchers of the Human Molecular Genetics group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), led by Dr. Sara Larriba, in collaboration with Dr. Francesc Vigués and Dr. Manel Castells of the Urology Service of Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB), show the…
2019 Science in Society Journalism Award winners announced
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Science in Society Journalism Awards, sponsored by the National Association of Science Writers: In the Book category, She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions and Potentials of Heredity ,…
New NIH program provides comprehensive treatment for inherited blood and immune diseases
People with inherited diseases of the blood and immune system can now receive treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center through a new, streamlined program that integrates expertise from many medical specialties and related basic science disciplines. Immunologists,…
How time affects the fate of stem cells
How do temporal variations in protein concentrations affect biology? It’s a question that biologists have only recently begun to address, and the findings are increasingly showing that random temporal changes in the amount of certain proteins play a direct and…
Engineered protein crystals make cells magnetic
If scientists could give living cells magnetic properties, they could perhaps manipulate cellular activities with external magnetic fields. But previous attempts to magnetize cells by producing iron-containing proteins inside them have resulted in only weak magnetic forces. Now, researchers reporting…
The almond & peach trees genomes shed light on the differences between these close species
Transposons could lie at the origin of the differences between the fruit of both species or the flavor of the almond
Personalized wellness: Can science keep up with tech innovations and consumer demands?
FoodMinds publishes new peer-reviewed paper unpacking essential questions and opportunities for credibility and differentiation
Association of genetic risk to psychotic experiences with neuropsychiatric disorders
What The Study Did: Data from the UK Biobank were used to examine whether genetic risk to psychotic experiences is shared with neuropsychiatric disorders. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https:/ /…
Genes ‘lost’ in whales and dolphins helped their ancestors transition to life underwater
Genes lost during the transition from land to water in cetaceans highlight genomic changes associated with aquatic adaptations
New insights into the healing capacity of the heart
A group of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Heart Institute and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reveals today in the journal Genes & Development new insights into the recently discovered healing capacity of…
We Are All Mutants, More or Less
Everyone is a mutant but some are prone to diverge more than others, report scientists at University of Utah Health. A new study published in eLife shows the number of mutations a child has compared to her parents varies dramatically with some people being born with twice as many as others, and that characteristic runs in families.
Upcoming: Embracing the Digital Environment Meeting
Agronomists, crop and soil scientists from around the world to meet in San Antonio
GW Cancer Center Researchers Find Potential Therapeutic Target for Prostate Cancers with PTEN Mutation
PTEN, a tumor suppressor gene mutated in about 20% of prostate cancers, relies on another gene, ARID4B, to function. These findings were published by George Washington University Cancer Center researchers in Nature Communications.
Study finds potential therapeutic target for prostate cancers with PTEN mutation
Researchers from the George Washington University published their findings on the connection between the PTEN gene and the ARID4B gene in Nature Communications
Exploring the risk of ALL in children with Down syndrome
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), is the most common childhood cancer. Children with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop ALL than children without Down syndrome. Historically, children with Down syndrome and ALL had more…
Researchers perform thousands of mutations to understand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Researchers from CRG and IBEC in Barcelona use a technique called high-throughput mutagenesis to study Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), with unexpected results
Discovery of novel cancer signaling mechanism and design of new anticancer compound
Using a newly synthesized compound and advanced immunofluorescence techniques, scientists uncover novel signaling mechanism in cancer and also propose new channel of treatment
Discovery of sorghum gene that controls bird feeding could help protect crops
A single gene in sorghum controls bird feeding behavior by simultaneously regulating the production of bad-tasting molecules and attractive volatiles, according to a study publishing September 23 in the journal Molecular Plant . This gene, called Tannin1, controls the synthesis…
New CRISPR class expands genetic engineering toolbox
The new approach opens up nearly 90 percent of CRISPR-Cas systems for use in human cells, including biomedical research and potential gene and cell therapies
DNA is held together by hydrophobic forces
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, disprove the prevailing theory of how DNA binds itself. It is not, as is generally believed, hydrogen bonds which bind together the two sides of the DNA structure. Instead, water is the key.…
Researchers perform thousands of mutations to understand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Researchers from CRG and IBEC in Barcelona use a technique called high-throughput mutagenesis to study Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), with unexpected results
Rethinking how cholesterol is integrated into cells
Most people have heard of “cholesterol levels” and the dangers of high blood cholesterol, which is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease. But besides the harmful side effects of high cholesterol, cholesterol is an essential component of all…
Latest issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia
September 2019 journal digest
Association for Molecular Pathology announces 2019 award recipients
ROCKVILLE, Md. – September 19, 2019 – The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, molecular diagnostics professional society, today announced the recipients of this year’s Award for Excellence in Molecular Diagnostics, Jeffrey A. Kant Leadership Award and Meritorious…
First glimpse at what ancient Denisovans may have looked like, using DNA methylation data
If you could travel back in time 100,000 years, you’d find yourself living among multiple groups of humans, including anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. But exactly what our Denisovan relatives might have looked like had been anyone’s guess for…
The next agricultural revolution is here
As a growing population and climate change threaten food security, researchers around the world are working to overcome the challenges that threaten the dietary needs of humans and livestock. A pair of scientists is now making the case that the…
Key similarities discovered between human and archaea chromosomes
Discovery from Indiana University could advance use of single-celled organism in research on cancers related to errors in cellular gene expression
New factor in the development of childhood lymphoma
A study recently published in the renowned journal Blood , led by Kaan Boztug, Scientific Director of the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases (LBI-RUD), Adjunct Principal Investigator at the CeMM…
The path of breast-to-brain cancer metastasis
In 2018, breast cancer was the most common cancer in women worldwide, accounting for about a quarter of all reported cancers. One of the biggest problems with any type of cancer is metastasis; and when breast cancer metastasizes, the brain…
Extinct human species gave modern humans an immunity boost
Findings from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research show modern humans acquired a gene variant from Denisovans that heightened their immune reactions, indicating adaptation of the immune system to a changing environment. The breakthrough study, published in Nature Immunology ,…
Bat influenza viruses possess an unexpected genetic plasticity
An unprecedented genetic plasticity and a putative function of NA “Influenza viruses have an inherent high mutation rate,” explains Prof. Martin Schwemmle of the Medical Center – University of Freiburg and coordinator of this study. “We therefore first tested the…
Every step a cell takes, every move they make — scientists will be watching
Scientists have created a novel two-layer microchip to track individual developmental changes in stem cells over longer time periods
Genomic migration analysis shows antibiotic resistance moving from humans to animals
CLEMSON, South Carolina – A Clemson University professor’s research has documented the movement of antibiotic resistance in humans into animal species. College of Science researcher Vincent Richards recently published results that draw attention to reverse zoonosis, or pathogens moving from…
Researchers find building mutations into Ebola virus protein disrupts ability to cause disease
ATLANTA–Creating mutations in a key Ebola virus protein that helps the deadly virus escape from the body’s defenses can make the virus unable to produce sickness and activate protective immunity in the infected host, according to a study by the…
Pew funds six research teams to pursue scientific discoveries
PHILADELPHIA–The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the six pairs of researchers who will make up its 2019 class of Innovation Fund investigators. These investigators–alumni of Pew’s biomedical programs in the United States and Latin America–partner on interdisciplinary research to tackle…
Did microbes assist life in colonizing land?
Comparative microbiome study enables researchers of the Kiel based CRC 1182 to gain new insights into the course of evolution
Pros and cons of genetic scissors
In combination with other methods, Crispr technology might one day render animal testing obsolete.
Global warming makes it harder for birds to mate, study finds
New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and University of Porto (CIBIO-InBIO) shows how global warming could reduce the mating activity and success of grassland birds. The study examined the threatened grassland bird Tetrax tetrax, or little…
More predictive genetic risk score sought for type 1 diabetes
AUGUSTA, Ga. (Sept. 16, 2019) – Paul Tran is working to develop a highly predictive genetic risk score that will tell parents whether their baby is at significant risk for type 1 diabetes. The ultimate goal, says the MD/PhD student…
Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops
Researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress triggers the activity of a family of jumping genes (Rider retrotransposons) previously known to contribute to fruit shape and colour in…
Palmer amaranth’s molecular secrets reveal troubling potential
URBANA, Ill. – Corn, soybean, and cotton farmers shudder at the thought of Palmer amaranth invading their fields. The aggressive cousin of waterhemp – itself a formidable adversary – grows extremely rapidly, produces hundreds of thousands of seeds per plant,…
Does adrenaline give you superhero strength? (video)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2019 — You’ve probably heard stories about mothers lifting cars to save their babies trapped underneath — but are those just urban myths? This week on Reactions, we talk about “superhero strength” and the chemistry behind what’s…
Stem cell researchers reactivate ‘back-up genes’ in the lab
Researchers in Belgium present new findings on X chromosome reactivation
Search tightens for genes driving prostate cancer
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is set up to fund individual projects in fields like genomics, computational biology, and pathology. Now researchers at University of Colorado Cancer Center are taking advantage of an innovative new program in cancer systems biology…